Welsh Spelt Bara Brith

Bara brith, known as “speckled bread”, is a rich Welsh tea-time classic made with mixed dried fruits and tea. There are two versions of bara brith. Traditionally bara brith is made with yeast and smeared liberally with butter. The modern version of bara brith is more like a fruitcake which is baked with self-raising flour.

This is my variation of Bara Brith made with Chai, and a mix of wholegrain spelt flour and refined spelt flour, based on the eatsmarter recipe – Walisischer Teekuchen mit Rosinen.

400 g Mixed dried fruits

240 ml Chai, hot

275 g Wholegrain spelt, ground

75 g Refined spelt flour

15 g Baking powder

1 tsp Cinnamon powder

2 Eggs, at room temperature

45 g Muscovado sugar

Pinch of salt

Put the dried fruit into a large mixing bowl. Pour over the hot chai and stir to combine. Cover and leave to soak overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a 30-cm loaf pan with baking paper. Whisk together the flours, baking powder and cinnamon powder.

Beat the eggs, muscovado sugar and salt until fluffy. Sift in the flour mixture, folding to combine. Now add in the dried fruit together with chai. Mix well.

Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake the oven and bake for 1 hour. Cover with a layer of foil to prevent the top from browning too much. Continue to bake for a further 30-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the tin and transfer to a wire rack. Cover with a tea towel and set aside to cool completely.